Sunday, 18 September 2016

Book Review | A Proposal To Die For By Vivian Conroy

With her father away in India, Lady Alkmene Callender finds being left to her own devices in London intolerably dull, until the glamorous Broadway star Evelyn Steinbeck arrives in town! Gossip abounds about the New York socialite, but when Ms Steinbeck’s wealthy uncle, Silas Norwhich, is found dead Lady Alkmene finds her interest is piqued. Because this death sounds a lot to her like murder…

Desperate to uncover the truth, Lady Alkmene begins to look into Ms Steinbeck’s past – only to be hampered by the arrival of journalist, Jake Dubois – who believes she is merely an amateur lady-detective meddling in matters she knows nothing about!

But Lady Alkmene refuses to be deterred from the case and together they dig deeper, only to discover that some secrets should never come to light.

Review

It's publication day tomorrow for the lovely Vivian Conroy who brings a great new sleuth to the cosy crime genre. Lady Alkmene Callender is a sassy and smart lady of quality who has an eye, and craving, for organised crime. Even before reading about Lady Alkmene I knew I'd love her as she looks just like Phryne Fisher from the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. An unfair judgement but it was a winner for me.

Jumping into A Proposal To Die For, we meet Lady Alkmene as she indulges in some tea with some acquaintances, only to be disturbed by the overhanging cloud of Jake Dubois' slightly devious personality. As a journalist he likes to delve deep into matters none of his business and soon enough he and Alkmene are shooting off to Dartmoor to get to the bottom of what Lady Callender suspects is murder.

There are many colourful characters in A Proposal To Die For who accompany us readers along the sleuthing journey. Perhaps the most vibrant, except for Lady Alkmene herself, is the American star Evelyn. Her short fuse and Jekyll and Hyde mood swings make for interesting reading as she attempts to hide certain facts from us.

To begin with, I have to admit that I was not a fan of Jake Dubois due to his slight arrogance and pompous way of speaking to people. However, as the story progresses and his relationship with Alkmene grows stronger I felt a hankering that maybe the two of them would hook up. Romance and crime certainly go hand in hand in my mind.

I enjoyed A Proposal To Die For very much and there were many great moments throughout the plot which kept my mind busy trying to solve the murder myself. This is a great read if you've never read a cosy crime novel and an even better read if you're looking for a new sleuth to follow.

Other Books By Vivian Conroy

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